


The strongest tree

by luzzco



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-10-29 01:21:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luzzco/pseuds/luzzco
Summary: A ex-model from NY came to Georgia for vacations before the end of the world. She was alone all this time, struggling to survive, and one day she found the group at the jail. Katherine managed to change everyone's lives, more specifically Rick's and Daryl's. It's been too long since neither of them let themselves to feel anything, but that will change.





	1. When everything started

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! so this is my first english fic (my native language is spanish). It will surely contain a lot of mistakes, but I wanted to practice in the language. I really hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to correct me and to leave feedback! xoxo

The day is long but the night is longer. At least that was what she read in some Gabriel García Márquez book a long time ago, when she had time to read. But when you live in a fancy flat in New York it's not like you really size the joyness and the sadness of both night and day. You don't feel that much alive. But now things were so different. Now, she live in a whole different world, in a different place and with a different sensation of how life works. No more asses to kiss, no more cocktail parties, no more false people. In fact, no more people at all.  
Since the end of the world began, she didn't see nobody. And it's been almost five years since then. Although she surely saw walkers, in some seasons more than in others. They come and go. And she had a goal: to kill them all.  
Katherine have been living in the forest all the time; when the Apocalipsis began, she was in a solitary trip to the wealthy and modern house she had in Georgia. She stood there for the first year and a half or so, but she couldn't resist the loneliness anymore, so started to look for people. The house had supplies for a long time, and the food wasn't a problem - the girl only knew to do three things: to hunt, to model and to sing. Neither the second and the third were that useful those days.  
The day she met them was shiny and bright. At some point of the journey, Katherine had lost any hope to find people, starting to believe she was the last women on earth. She had believed that the second year of non-seing a human being. At some point she looked desperate, but now she only felt hopeless and empty, as the roads she walked by.  
The day where everything began she took a bath at the river. She was so used to being alone that she didn't had that human embarrassment of the nudity anymore. She finished slow, drying her long body at the sun and the warm of a rock. Then she'd put her clothes: a black bra to hold her abundant breasts that showed her belly, some sand-colored trousers she found in a hunt shop the last city she visited and obviously her belt, her precious belt, a black leather multifunctional item that she used to carry her two little knives, her bowie knive, her munition, a rope and a lantern. She also charged her ak-47, her bow and her bag, in which she had food, medical items and stones to make fire.  
With all her equipment settled, her long blonde her shining clean and untangled, new strength and her laces tied, she started to walk again. 

It was early in the afternoon; the birds would sing and she hadn't seen a non-dead (that what's she called them) in a while. At the beggining they were such a moral problem for her — she didn't remember when they stop being that.  
She reached a clearing and looked up. She used to feel her heart beating faster when she saw something human like a town or a bar, but now she did no more. That's why when she saw the jail she just went straight to enter inside and get all the useful things.  
She saw that the point below the front door was the lowest; a barbed wire, she thought, perfect to climb at.  
She put one feet before the other at started to escale. At the higher position, with half of the body on the other side, she was so concentrated in passing without hurting herself with the wire that she didn't realized someone was coming towards her.  
"Hey!" shouted a man's deep low voice.  
She freezed. Almost literally. That must just happend in my head. But after the microsecond she froze she turn around so quick she fell. From five meters. To the ground.

The next thing she remember was extreme pain. She opened her eyes to see a tall man running towards her. "But what if he's not trusty? I mean, he is not a walker, he talked. But..." all these thoughts came to her mind in a microsecond. The hurt in her arm and leg intensified.  
She wouldn't have done anything to stop the man to come to her. He walked carefully the few next meters, but faster when he saw the injured. Then he looked her right in the eye, and she smiled. That was the last thing she remembered before everything turned black: the first man she saw in half a decade.


	2. She looked at him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the initial scene but from the point of view of Daryl, telling how things are nowadays at the jail. It's been a year and a half more o less since the governor's attack, and yep, Hershel and Lori died on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey :3 I really hoped you're likin it. It takes me soooo much time to write in English you wouldnt know jajajjaa and I do it wrong, so...  
> If you subscribe it would really cheer me up <3 love you guys!

That was gonna be a hot day. It had been almost a year and a half since Lori's and Hershel's deads. They decided to stay in the prison, to build a life, to keep going, to try to live. And everything was starting to look almost normal; they cleaned up all the prison from walkers, build a medium-sized farm and organized all the supplies and rooms.  
But the PTSD was something he didn't count in. Yeah, for sure they now have a roof to cover, a room to sleep at night and food almost everyday. But precisely the nights were the worst. The nightmares didn't go away. Carl stopped talking to Rick some time ago. Even thought the ambient was ok, people would talk in smalls groups. Rick felt his life empty, and tried to cover it with trips to towns, each one more far away. Even Judith, who was now big and gorgeous, couldn't make him happy. He constantly felt like he was going to loose her any moment soon, and with that feeling is impossible to feel something deep for anyone.

That day was pretty outrageous just because most of the people were out. They didn't want to make anyone sink in the laziness of not killing and losing the hand on fighting, so they took turns to go down to town and get supplies. That day, a group led by Maggie and Glenn got off towards the city to explore.

It was suppose to be Daryl's turn to be checking the front door. Rick was killing some walkers in the back yard, at the rear zone. 

He got Judith in the inside, and at some point she started to cry. Daryl came to see what was happening, and when he managed (only after some time singing with this mouth shot a song to her, something he would never admit he usually did) to calm her down, he went out.

And then he saw her. A tall girl was climbing the wire to their side in a slow way, like it was nothing. She seem equipated to run a war, with her black outfit full of equipment.

Danger. He felt it in his skin. It's been that much time since he didn't felt that, not even with walkers. A stranger. All the stuff with the governor came to his head as he started to run, screaming a warning at the same time.

The girl seem like she wasn't expecting that at all. She turned to face him, but fall in the attempt. A whole situation was happening just in front of him. 

Her gun fell a few meters near him, and he kicked it far away. He started to bring out his crossbow, but then he saw the girl unconcious. Fuck. Wasn't expecting that.  
He kneel as fast as he could to see her injuries. Damn, a casket went through her leg and her shoulder was totally out of the body. Ugly fall. Daryl could almost see she tried to reach her knife, and fail in the attempt. She moaned in pain, suddenly awake, and that would intermingle with his heavy breathing.  
He hold her in his arms. The girl was so skinny she weight like a feather.  
And then, she looked at him, poorly smiling.


	3. The struggle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick is trying to save Katherine's live. All the group came back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make this chapter longer <3 Really hope you like it.

That look was just incredible. He could feel like she knew who he was, all his past, his ilusions and fears. She was at the same time analyzing, tearing apart and understanding.  
Those blue eyes. The sight was so short, she close her eyes so fast, but she recognized him. Not like she would have seen him before, but in a deeper way. Suddenly, he felt apprehensiveness, very aware of himself. He felt dirty, he felt his soul dirty. He remember the belt, the fire, the smoke, the smell of alcohol. The loneliness. Just one look reminded him of everything; just one look that finally understood.  
And in one moment everything started to move fast. Daryl got up with her in his arms, totally swoon. He'd check around to see if she was with some partner or something like that, but she wasn't. 

He started to move fast, shouting Rick's name. Rick came in a second (he was already coming because of the first shout of Daryl), worried, with a hand in the Python. When he saw it was just a girl, his danger sensor slowed down a little.

"What happened?" Rick talked in a loud voice, not knowing what to do with his hands. Hopefully, the relationship between Daryl and him grew stronger each moment they spent together, and it was quite a lot. They became more and more like brothers, although they didn't talk about their feelings. With just one look they could realize what the other wanted. They were there for each other those times more than never.

"The girl fell off the wire, she was tryin' to pass it. Y' take care of her, listen, I gotta go. Judith is in the hall" After murmuring that with a shaky and low voice, he give the girl to Rick's arms. The blood would soiled his clothes, living him all dirty red, but he didn't care. He went right to the wire, to scape from there. He needed air.

Rick took a speed look at him, checking he was OK, to turn his gaze to the girl. She was all flacid, baring in his arms, so hopeless. At the moment he saw the blood, he started to run. He checked Judith while passing through the hall — she was in a mini enclosure they home-made with wood, playing with a embroidered doll Carol made to her.

He went to the kitchen, or at least the room they considered like that. It was the nearest room around. He put her upon the table, with care but fast. Holly shit, that wound seemed bad. Rick tore her pants with the help of his knife and the strong of his hands, leaving her in underwear. He also took her belt off to the floor. He had to check if the girl had any walker bite, and hopefully she hadn't. That would really got thing worse.   
There was an iron going through her leg, lucky for her just on the outside of the thigh. It didn't have that much of a bad look after all. But he had to stop the bleeding: the blood wouldn't stop coming out, and the girl was turning into a bad-looking pale white. And fuck, he knew it wasnt't no one in the building. He had to do something.

"This is going to hurt" he murmured in a low voice, hoping she wouldn't woke up.

He proceed to extract the iron. All at once, he pull it off using a lot of strength. 

She screamed. She woke up. Rick whined of anxious, trying to mantiene the calm. The girl sit up suddenly as she started to make gasping noises and to intermingle them with cries of pain.  
Some flashbacks about Hershel crossed Rick's mind, but he forced himself to remain calm. He wouldn't look her in the eyes, he wouldn't do what he had to otherwise. 

"It's ok, it's ok, a iron injured your leg, but it's going to be ok" he said loudly, trying to overcome her screams. She eventually fell unconscious again.

He pushed the injure until it stopped bleeding that much, and then he went to the first-aid kit for some gauzes. He came back running, and then started to cover the whole thigh with them, until it seemed proper.

Then he looked at her torso. Her chest was going up and down really fast, like she was having a bad time catching breath. And her arm... well, he remember watching Hershel puting back Daryl's shoulder once. It couldn't be that difficult. He heard that if you don't do it fast, it could be worst in a long-term.  
Rick's hands were shaking a little. Her shoulder started to turn violet in a bruise. He put her in the sit-up mode —it was kinda difficult since she was totally hanging, so was her shoulder.  
Rick was totally lost. He decided to lay her down again, separated her arm from her body a little and putting it in a 90 angle. He remember he had to do it slow and fast at the same time, so he did. 

He looked at her. He suppose he did it right since the expression of the girl's face suddenly changed from extreme pain to... well, slightly distressing. At that point, Rick breathed a sigh of relief.

After a moment of just breathing to calm him down, he looked around. The blood of the girl had soiled everything, even his clothes. But it was pretty strange; she seemed to be clean excepting the blood... weird for a person who is by herself. Her body progressively relaxed on the table. He went to the sink for some water and a towel to clean her up, and while we was doing that, Maggie entered the room. 

"Rick! What is... what is going on?" she almost screamed while she ran towards him, seeing all the blood.

"I..." god, he would wait ten more minutes and they would come. Why did he did it so fast? Well, the first thought that came to his mind was that he couldn't have an idea of when they were coming. In fact, they meant to came the next day. "She..."

Maggie approached the table and started to looked at the girl. "Who is she? Is she ok? Has she been bitten, Rick?" 

He suddenly returned to the normal.  
"She's fine. She tried to pass the wire and fell off. An iron penetrate her tigh but I took it off and dress the wound. She dislocated her shoulder, but I put it back. Is everyone ok?"

Maggie looked at him and then nod, but her expression remained dead serious.

"Was she with someone else?"

"I don't think so, I didn't see nobody. But tell the others and check the perimetre."

Maggie stood still for a moment, returning to look at her and what Rick did.

"Well, good job. I'm telling Beth to put her a sling" the corners of her mouth went up a little, trying to destense the situation. "Where's Daryl?" 

He just deny with his head and shrug. She nodded and turned herself to go.

Finally alone, Rick continue to clean everything up, even the girl. When she finished, Beth came in. He explained to her the situation again, this time more calmly. Beth procced to make a homemade sling with ropes and put them on her, and meanwhile she spoke.

"Glenn told me to tell you that they didn't find anybody, but they will remain alert. The girl was by herself. And changing the subject, I think they are putting down all the things we got" she said with an angelical voice. 

"Did you find anything?" and by "anything" he meant "any value thing".

"Not really... we came to this town which was full of walkers, but it didn't seemed like. We searched in two houses and found something, but then we see a horde coming" Beth continue talking to him and he listened. She grew up so strong... the little Beth wasn't little anymore, and he was so proud of her. He couldn't stop that thought that was coming to his head everytime he felt something nice for anybody besides Daryl, but he tried to listen and silent his thoughts.

When they finished the talk, he carry her in his arms to a room. He put her in the same block as the rest, but the cubicle more far away and locked down. They didn't know her yet. He wouldn't take any risks. He laid her down in the bed and cover her up with the blanket. That was the first time that he let himself see her: he thought of her as a kiddo, but she was actually a woman, on her twenties. Her body shape was incredible, athlete. Her skin was tonned. But the most shocking thing was her hair. She had her blonde her in a ponytail that was long enough to reach her waist. He undo the ponytail for her to be more comfortable, and a lot of hair came down and spread below her figure.

It was enough of admiring. He felt weird and decided to leave the cabin, closing it after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this time and on I'm trying to """"""imitate"""""" Daryl's accent, which I think it's from the south. I can't even differentiate the different type of English accents by speaking (also, I studied English from England) so this is going to be a disaster (but funny to do though!).


	4. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat wakes up and talks to Maggie and Beth. Finally, she sees her savior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm plainning to upload a chapter a day yes and two days no. What do you think? ^^

The awaking was slow but painful. As soon as she became aware of being alive again she started to feel a deep ache in the arm. But it wasn't just that, she felt like the leg was burning.

"How it's going?" oh Lord, she wasn't alone. A woman's voice spoke some metres near her.

"I think it looks awesome, she recovered really fast" another voice. More near. A girl's voice.

Then she felt something touch her wound and the diametrical pain raised up.  
She opened her eyes and move her body a little.

"Hey..."

As soon as she said that, even at a low voice, the girl, who was blonde and small, jump backwards like a fire would touch her. It seemed like neither the two girls were looking at her at that time, and apparently the blonde was about to change the dress of her wound.

Catherine sat up ninety degrees in the bed, without moving her shoulder or leg. She was apparently in a cell, and the last thing she saw was a jail, so it made sense. It was pretty cold in there, even thought it was summer. The walls were grey but around her everything seemed pretty clean. There were obviously iron bars on one wall, where the door was. She instantly realized that she was unarmed, and couldn't see any of there guns or weapons around.

"Sorry to scared you." she said slowly, adding a bride smile to the apology. The blonde and the woman looked at her disturbed, making her feel like she was a weirdo. But... ahh. People. It was the first time she saw an alive woman in... better not to think about it. 

In a few seconds the women restored calm. She could see it in the shoulders of the blonde: they turned from being straight up to relax a little. Also her eyes went from bride open to squint.  
The women, who had brown hair and seemgly blue eyes (she really couldn't see that much with the small amount of light, it seemed like it was dusk time) didn't surprise that much thought. 

"It's ok. We were changing the dresses of your wound" said the brown-headed. 

"Oh, thank you." She wouldn't know what to say, and everything was so awkward. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Two days and a half. You lost a lot of blood, but your injuries are getting better really fast" this time was the blonde one who spoke. She was petite and skinny, but with a gorgeous hair and also those blue eyes that seemed to shine in the dark.

"Oh, I see." Silence. She had to cover it. "My name is Katherine, by the way. You can call me Kat," she finally spoke.

"I'm Maggie." Both Grenne sisters had a lot of questions sprouting outta their chest, but they wouldn't ask them.

"I'm Beth. Can I...?" asked the girl, approaching to her again.

"Yeah, sure, thank you again. Maybe you can give me some water?" Beth nodded with her head, giving her a bottle she had in her bag.  
The girl was fast with her fingers. She did a really good job. She would also had to learn how to cure injuries before the apocalipsis, not by training but... forcibly.

Beth ended in silence and that looked rare to her. But before she had time to ask anything, Maggie spoke.

"We're going to dinner anytime soon. Maybe you can talk to Rick and then join us" she said, in a very polite manner. Kat nodded her head fast, almost shaking it, murmuring "sure sure...", frowning her forehead.

"But... who's Rick?"

Maggie made a twisted smile.

"He's our leader. He saved you," Kat wide opened her eyes, "and he would like to ask you some questions."

"Sure... yet it will be quite difficult for me to move" she laughed a tiny bit, with her mouth closed, anxiously. The pain was something she just forgot. That was pretty easy for her to do: she was so used to it... 

Maggie smiled to her a little and bring her up a crutch which was laying on the corner of the room. She hold it and tried to got up, successfully. But then she realized she was almost naked: they left her her black top, but she was in panties. Kat went all brushed but it was to late to try to cover. Maggie, fast as lightning, move fast to take some clothes in a pile near them. She gave them to her.

"Yeah, sorry. You can use my clothes, I think we have a similar shape".

She put some really short black shorts, and a old-worn t-shirt which was big for her but not that much to cover the short trousers, leaving both of her thighs exposed.  
Kat thought Beth would still be frighten, 'cause she didn't say anything and she didn't look like the kind of a silent person. Although she wouldn't stop looking at her, scrupulously. She give her a look back and the girl retired her sight. Beth was full of questions, as was Maggie. 

Maggie opened the door of the cell and pass and Beth and herself came after. It was a long hallway with stairs; in one side of the hallway there were more cells and in the other side they were a fall of a floor. Covering all the side it was a big window. 

When they finally got down (after waiting for her some time, for the reason that she wasn't precisely fast right then) she could smell food. It made her mouth watering and her stomach ache.

They stoppped at the middle and Maggie told Beth to go find Rick. The girl would enter another corridor (yeah, there were infinite corridors), leaving her and Maggie by themselves. So silent time went by, until... 

"So, ugly fall, right?" Maggie said with a little smile, playing. It looked like they weren't mean to ask questions, so she just giggled a little. The brown was trying to be friendly: actually, Kat was pretty nervous, she didn't know why. Because... what if they kicked her out? What if she wasn't able to find anybody ever again? And also, what if they were bad people, if they would want to hurt her? 

"Didn't know they were anybody..." she ended but saying.

And then, a noise come out the hallway.

A tall man with brown hair and salt-and-pepper beard showed up. He got a belt with a gun, a Python she guessed, and a sand shirt. It didn't really gave her time to analyze him more, cause he started talking.

"Hey. I'm Rick," he said with a deep voice, turning his eyes from Maggie to her. Gosh, she was incredibly attractive. 

"I-I'm Katherine," she stuttered.

A awkward silence went through and Maggie looked at them alternatively, cause they would not stop looking at each other.

"I think I'm going to dinner and leave you alone, guys" she ended up saying, receiving the goodbye of both.

"I thought about going for a walk, but you don't seem really..."

"In a good condition?" she bite her lip, repressing a smile. "I could use some fresh air, in fact."

"Let's go, then." He walked and opened a pretty big door that lend to the outside, as she followed.  
The sun hurt her eyes. When she got use to the light, she could see they were in a courtyard, and evolving them there were more fences, and after that, grass and more fences even. It seemed so secure... and clean. They did a good job.  
He went and sit in a homemade bench near the door.

They both stood silent for some time, not knowing what to say, or do. She wanted to thank him for saving her life, but she wasn't used to talking to people so she thought she would horribly fail in the attempt.

"So. What were you trying to do? I supposed you didn't know it was occupied," he ended up by saying, looking at her. She wouldn't, she was looking in front of her, so nervous her right leg was shaking.

"No... I didn't. I just... mmm..." she went silent for a while, maybe a little too much.

"You just...?" Rick tried to help her.

"I've never seen anyone since the start of this," she said while she turned and face him. She could see the surprise in his face, and how he went from looking at her to a lost look at the nothing.

"Oh, I see. I thought you were trying to invade us, you and your ghost army," Rick joked. She made a forced giggle, too nervous to laugh.

"Sorry again for that."

"Are you better from your injurie?" he asked, looking truly interested. She nod fast in response.

"Don't worry. Thank... thank you guys for saving my life," she finally said, not leaving her green eyes from his blue ones. God, they were like the sky, and so expressive. It's been so much since she wasn't with a man that... her thighs wanted to squeeze involuntary. Good Lord he didn't know what she was thinking. 

"It's ok, we save anyone who isn't a walker, y'know. But besides, Kat, I wanted to ask you some questions, even though I think you already answer me one."

Kat looked at him curious. She make a movement with her head, a "you go" nod. 

"How many walkers... you know... the things, you've killed?"

She frowned, looking again at the yard. One non-dead was approaching to the most far away fence.

"In four years? I dunno, Rick. I was by myself, maybe thousands." She wanted to tell him that her main goal was to kill them all, but at the last moment she figure it out that that wasn't the right answer.

Rick left a silence, nodding.

"And how many men?"


	5. Just she

"One."

She murmured it with a low voice. Rick looked at her, without looking impressed but kinda inside.

"I killed my uncle in selfdefense," she said softly. A long time stood by, until she suddenly colletected herself. "But I moved and recovered and fuck with boys and girls and lived and worked until I had nothing inside else to hate. I don't need you to understand my reasons, I'm just telling you the truth."

God, she looked like a storm. And at the final words she turned to face him and her cat green eyes were so stunning he forgot everything he was about to say. Her blonde hair followed desesperetly all of her moves, ending by laying of her shoulder gracile. The look with the hair down fit her so well... He stopped looking at her to make himself more serious.

"I killed some people too. I was a cop and it was my job. I think there is no regrets in doing what you have to," he finally spoke. "Everyone have a heavy load but sometimes for some people it is heavier."

She wouldn't stop looking at him, waiting. He finally spoke.

"Listen, we accept people here. Good people. Hard workers. Everyone would treat you kind and go wherever you want to, even thought there are some rules. We're a family you know, so let's see if you fit here."

That was the first time he felt that she relaxed a little, sighing a brief of relief. 

They would start talking about some general things then: how life was there, how they managed to distributed the food, the works, the walkers-cleaning... 

The girl was a cute weirdo. He could understand that, for such a long time without stepping into anything similar to a civilization. But the silences she made were at the same time so cringy and calming... she would do them in the middle of a sentence, just to think about what she was going to say, but for too much time. Rick would encourage her with his look.

It was so easy talking to her. He felt like he was talking to a friend of a long time, like Daryl; the difference was her beauty. She was stunning. Her face had a perfect simmetry, with a little noise and full red lips. She bit them a lot, while she was thinking about what she wanted to say, and that drived him crazy. Since Lori, he didn't give himself even just a moment to think of another women, but even though he would, who? All the women in the jail reminded him of Lori. The fact was, she was more than just a pretty face. She was a survivor, a truly one, and at she was a breath of air. She shined, she was tough. But nothing could evitate she was attractive, a disturbing fallen angel, and that was just something you can't ignore. 

Finally they decided to go inside. They both get on, but she did it as fast as she would before her accident, forgetting about her injured leg, and falling forwards.  
Rick plunged fast in front of her, holding her by her shoulders and then by her waist, and moving her towards him, to fall into his chest. She did, layin her hands in his pectorals and her head in his shoulder, moaning a wordless shout.  
All the aroma of her hair hit Rick's noise, for just one second, but enough to remember it. It smelled like sun and rubber, like leather and eucalyptus. 

"So-sorry..." she sttutered, turning her head to face him. 

"It's ok," he said, in a lower voice that he wanted, but non-stoping holding her tiny waist with strong hands.

They both started to move at the same time, awkwardly. She reached her crotch while he step backwards. Just... the constant looks they intermingle said it all. It was clear that just one touch perturbed both of them.  
They moved to the hall they were before and then followed the smell of food to the kitchen to enter. It seemed difficult for her to walk, she looked so focused in not falling. 

Dozens of heads turned. Everyone were at the table, eating. Even Daryl.


	6. That girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat enjoys the dinner and meets everyone, but surprisingly everyone know about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooorry so much for not posting! Idk if anyone is following the story, but I had my finals and it was impossible for me. Anyway I continued writing my favorite parts and I have all the story in my head!  
> <3 thx u 4 reading! <3 <3 <3

And there she was, next to Rick. Her hair was loose, blonde and below her waist, moving among her hips.   
His eyes were cast towards her figure, admiring every inch of her skin, which seemed so... soft.  
Suddenly everyone came back to doing whatever they were doing. There were some people cooking, some getting food and several tables occupied. Maggie, Beth and Carol were sitting in his table, and he could see how Rick and the girl were approaching. He said something to her and went to the zone were the food was while the girl walked slowly towards them. Daryl stopped looking at her, and started to eat again.

"Hi," she almost whispered, looking at Beth. "Can I sit with you?" Her face was red as a balloon.

"Sure, you go", answered Carol, nicely.

She sat down in his front but a place below. She went silent and cumbersome, until out of the blue, Beth exclaim:

"That's were I knew you! You Katherine Damon, right? I remember seeing you in magazines, you're a model!" and that's how Beth cut the air with a shape knife.

They all looked at up from their plates and stare. The girl's face went even more red if it can be possible and she looked at Beth, hopeless. Then, she turned her expression to resignation.

"I-I was, yeah".

"Well that seems useful in this world right?" spoke Daryl. Maggie and Beth started to laugh.

"C'mon Daryl, don't be so hard on her. She survived all this years by herself, you really think she's weak?" jumped Carol to defend her. Daryl grimaced and put all his weight on the back of the chair. In a few words, she wanted to make a warning: she couldn't be that inoffensive if she was still standing. "How did you ended up in Georgia, darling?"

Well, news travel fast. 

"In fact..." Kat would look at Daryl while saying it. "I'm from Georgia. I moved to NY for the fashion runways at an early age, and by the time when..." she left a little time there. " When everything ended, I was here for vacations. But I'm downside. From The Buff."

Daryl couldn't help but lift his eyebrows. From The Buff? From where he was? That princess?

"I don't think you would survive a night in The Buff, kiddo," he spoke with a husky voice.

She stared, fierecely. She didn't seem the kind of girl she would do that type of look, thought she did.

"Looks like I survived fifteen years," she said, and then made a forced smile and vocalized without a sound "asshole".

Just in that moment Rick came with two plates, one for him and one for the girl. He sit down below her, and then Daryl realized how into the conversation he was that Maggie, Beth and Carol just stared, tense.

"Hey, what happened?" Rick asked, with half a spoon of the soup in his mouth, starving.

"Nothin'" answered fast Daryl. He and Kat stared at each other for some time, but she finally broke the sight by holding the plate Rick was giving to her.

"Thank you" she murmured, suddenly red again.

She would gone if her stomach wouldn't be so empty. She ate voracely without looking up, whatever the food was. Finally, she looked up to see around. Rick was watching her eat, slowly blinking. 

“You were THAT hungry,” he spoke.

“Thank you very much.” She started to feel a little dizzy, maybe ‘cause she ate so fast it hurt her belly. “Rick,” she whispered quietly, while everyone was eating and talking, “I think I gotta go outside to breath some fresh air,” she grimaced with pain, trying to cover it but without a great success. Rick seemed worried, but nodded at let her go.

Kat stood up and crossed the room, this time acting more normal and not getting any attention. Or that was what she thought.  
She went to the exact place where Rick and her talked, opened the door and sat in the stone bench. The night was closing. She was still disturbed from the talk with Daryl… the social issues messed up with her head before, but now… without having any problem for a such a long time…   
Suddenly, the door opened and someone came up, making her lifted up her head. 

It was him. Daryl. She instantly got up, without thinking of her injury. That made her make a funny face again, but she turned to face him. He looked calm, taking a cigarette out of his pant pocket.

“Hey. hEY,” she talked louder as he wasn’t paying any kind of attention to her. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she asked in a hysterical tone. "You think you can treat me like a piece of shit? I'm fucking new here and you have to be such a fucking asshole?"

M'am, the girl knew how to swear.

"I remember guys like you from before this shit. Let's skip the part where you bully me until you realize I'll be here for a long time, so as you." That man seemed so dangerous and unstrusty. 

That made him furious. Who the hell was that fucking blonde to tell him how to act in his own house, in the place he have ran for the past years? Just who was she to tell him anything? He stteped towards her to cut the gap between them, approaching to the place she was almost laying on the wall.

“We were just great alone, sweetheart. Don’t come here to cause problems, don’t know ‘bout your fancy life before but here you have to follow orders.”

His face was the face of the furious. His eyebrows were clouding, his mouth shot and he was breathing intensely. He came acrossed her face so close he could feel her heat, with his typical posture of one shoulder more laid down.   
But then... he suddenly got confused. There was that look, then again. The meaningful look of those big deep green eyes, like she was really from the Bluff and she really knew all his past. He looked at her mouth, suddenly losing all of his control, and surprised because she was staring at his too. They were so close, their chests were coming up and down in a heavy breathing, like two bulls just about to fight. But all he could feel was desire, something he didn't experienced since the end of the world... or even before.  
She bit her lip so hard she made herself blood, with slanted eyes.  
But something was weird there. He could feel her heat, but without even touching her. She had...

Suddenly, she started to close her eyes and her flacid corpse came towards him, swoon. They were so close he easily reached her. She passed out in his arms.


End file.
